Surlingham
| Surlingham | |
|---|---|
 Surlingham St Mary |
|
 Surlingham
|
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| Surlingham shown within Norfolk | |
| Area | 7.32 km2 (2.83 sq mi) |
| Population | 725 (2011) |
| • Density | 99/km2 (260/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | TG314067 |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | NORWICH |
| Postcode district | NR14 |
| Police | Norfolk |
| Fire | Norfolk |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
Surlingham is a village and civil parish in South Norfolk situated on the Broads (United Kingdom). It lies approximately 6½ miles (10½ km) south-east of Norwich on the south bank of the River Yare between Bramerton and Rockland St Mary. In the 2001 census it contained 266 households and a population of 637, increasing to 725 at the 2011 census. Although Surlingham is part of South Norfolk District, as in other broadland villages those areas of the village adjacent to the river and broads fall into the executive area of the Broads Authority.
The church of St Mary in Surlingham is one of 124 existing round-tower churches in Norfolk. The adjacent Church Marsh nature reserve is owned by the RSPB and is overlooked by the ruins of St Saviour's church (less than half a mile north-east of St Mary's). Dating from the 12th century, St. Saviour's was in regular use until 1705. A campaign has been launched by local villagers to save the site from further deterioration and to make it safe for visitors. Norfolk naturalist Ted Ellis is buried here.
Surlingham Community Primary School currently caters for around 80 children in four classrooms, two in the original Victorian building and two more built in a similar style completed in 2006. It is situated on Walnut Hill in the centre of Surlingham opposite the village pond. Also in the centre of the village are a village shop, post office and a garage. In 2011 a choir, "Surlingham Broadnotes", was started in the village.
The village has two pubs, both in the north of the village on the bank of the river, the Coldham Hall Tavern and The Ferry House Inn. The latter marks the site of a ferry across the Yare to Postwick which stopped operating around 1939 following a collision with a coaster.
Lying between Surlingham Ferry and Coldham Hall Tavern is Surlingham Broad, a maze of waterways and swamp over 1 km2 in area owned by Norfolk Wildlife Trust. One of the central lakes, Bargate, is connected to the Yare by two dykes; the area is known as the 'wherry graveyard' as 13 wherry hulls have been sunk here. It was in the Yare valley and in particular on Surlingham Broad in the 1950s that Dr Joyce Lambert, helped by schoolboys from the City of Norwich School, began taking peat borings which led her to conclude that the Broads were the result of human activity, peat digging.
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Wikipedia